"Step aside!" Annihilus barked, his voice commanding the surrounding insectoids to back off. Though they had been poised to swarm, his caution toward Garus remained unwavering. His previous battle with Hela had taught him a crucial lesson—foes wielding the power of death could reanimate the fallen, turning them into their own undead minions.
"Relax. I won't have my subordinates interfere," he assured Garus.
Before ascending to the ruler of the Brood, Annihilus had been nothing more than a minor player. It was only after obtaining the Cosmic Control Rod that he had clawed his way to power through sheer determination.
The swarm of airborne insects dispersed, forming a vast open space in the air. Garus welcomed the reprieve—the relentless buzzing of their wings had been grating on his nerves.
Summoning an undead army took time, and with an estimated billion of these creatures present, the scale of this battle was truly terrifying.
Floating midair, Annihilus brought his hands together before his chest. The Cosmic Control Rod embedded in his torso and the tendrils extending from his body began to radiate with a powerful glow. "I'll select the perfect host for your body. This will grant me a formidable new servant."
Much like the Xenomorphs, the Brood Queen could implant eggs into other organisms, using them as incubators to propagate the species.
Raising both hands, Annihilus unleashed a searing beam of energy toward Garus. Unlike his previous attacks, this blast radiated intense heat.
Noticing their leader's actions, the insectoids scrambled even further away.
Each time Annihilus wielded the Cosmic Control Rod, he inadvertently incinerated a substantial number of his own troops. Even these dim-witted creatures had learned to fear it instinctively.
As the scorching ray cut through the air, the surrounding atmosphere became visibly distorted from the heat.
Garus had easily deflected energy-based attacks in the past, but this time, his anti-magic shield faltered.
In an instant, his green protective barrier shattered, leaving him exposed. Caught off guard, Garus watched as his entire left arm was vaporized into nothingness.
Seeing this, Annihilus smirked, visibly relaxing. "And here I thought you were more powerful than this—"
Before he could finish, the power of the Reality Stone surged around Garus' shoulder. In the blink of an eye, a new arm materialized in place of the one lost.
Garus shot Annihilus an icy glare before unleashing a swirling sphere of gray energy toward him.
"Sssszzz!" The death energy struck Annihilus, eating away at his green exoskeleton, leaving patches of decayed flesh. However, within moments, the wounds regenerated. The Cosmic Control Rod not only allowed him to manipulate energy and break down matter but also greatly enhanced his physical resilience.
"Tsssh! That actually hurt! You've made me angry now!"
Matter-disintegration rays, energy blasts… none of it mattered against the power of the Infinity Stones.
Annihilus grabbed a hammer from seemingly nowhere and detached the Cosmic Control Rod from his chest, affixing it to the weapon's head.
"I will crush you!" Blinded by rage and greed, he lunged at Garus, his wings propelling him forward at blinding speed.
Their weapons clashed, sending shockwaves rippling outward. The force of their collision disintegrated any insectoids unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast radius.
Though the Cosmic Control Rod carried an intimidating name, it paled in comparison to an Infinity Stone.
With Garus wielding not only the power of death but also the soul energy of Frostmourne, Annihilus quickly realized this opponent was far more dangerous than the last one he had faced with similar abilities.
His eyes flickered with calculation—he needed a new strategy.
After Garus charged into the swarm, those below quickly lost sight of him. Only the endless detonations and sporadic flashes of light hinted at the ferocity of the battle above.
Nothing seemed to change. The Vanir had already witnessed the overwhelming power of the enemy commander, and perhaps nothing would change at all.
Loki, who had been under watchful guard, couldn't contain himself any longer. "Listen, now that the insects have lost direct command and their assault has weakened, shouldn't we seize the initiative and attack?"
Indeed, the battlefield had grown chaotic. Without Annihilus' direct orders, the Brood generals struggled to coordinate their forces, frequently causing friendly fire incidents among their own ranks.
The Elven King and Poseidon, Njord, exchanged glances and nodded. After issuing commands to their subordinates, a rejuvenated battalion of mages rushed out from the tower, their magical energies fully restored.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, the ground was littered with corpses—both insectoid and undead. Fortunately, none of the superheroes had perished, though Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes had sustained injuries.
Thanks to Extremis, Tony's wounds were minor, but his armor had taken severe damage. With no way to repair it here, his combat effectiveness was greatly diminished.
Both men had been caught off guard and sent hurtling into the sand, burying them beneath the surface.
Wanda, ever vigilant, had kept an eye on the battlefield. Without hesitation, she extended her Chaos Magic, forming two massive crimson hands that reached into the ground, pulling Tony and Rhodes free.
"Cough! Cough! Thanks, gorgeous!" Tony said, his faceplate retracting as he coughed out dust.
"I should've brought my combat satellite. This is really frustrating." His Hulkbuster and additional suit components were stored in an orbital satellite, but given their current location, he couldn't contact it. His firepower was significantly reduced as a result.
Just then, the grounded Naxxramas let out a deep, mechanical groan.
Tony turned toward the city's center, where the ground suddenly split open, revealing a gaping fissure. From within, dozens of towering, twenty-meter-tall figures emerged.
These entities resembled hunched skeletons, yet the metallic sheen reflecting off their forms suggested something far more sophisticated.
"What the hell are those?" Thor asked, supporting the wounded Colonel Rhodes as they moved to a safer position. The creatures didn't resemble any known undead.
"My latest masterpiece—Skeletal Constructs!" Dr. Connors appeared beside them, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he watched the colossal beings swing their scythe-like limbs, slicing through the Brood with ease.
While these constructs might not match superheroes in sheer strength, their efficiency at exterminating the insectoids was unmatched, and their metallic bodies were incredibly resilient.
"Garus has infiltrated their stronghold, throwing the swarm into disarray. Now's our chance! We need to carve a path to the Elven city and regroup with them!"
-----------------------
TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON